Who can affert, fhe knew, the Melliah was to be born of a virgin, when the blessed virgin herself did not know it, when fhe heard it from the mouth of an angel, as appears from her words; "how fhail this be, feeing I know not a man," Luke We deny not, that the Melliah is eminently called the feed of the woman, because he was to be born of a virgin: which the the Holy Ghoft afterwards more clearly foreteld. But it is no crime to doubt, whether our mother Eve could have gathered this from .thofe words; fince, in the facred language, even they are faid to be born of a woman, who are conceived in matrimony, as we fhewed fection XVII. One may affert this, and not tranfgrefs against that refpect due to our common mother; as it is certain, God gradually brought his people to the knowldge of the Methah: nor does it overturn the faith of Eve, which might have been genuine and faving, though it was under this imperfection, ignorance and mistake; as Peter had a true faith concerning Chrift, that is a faving, and not a hypocritical, though he ima gined through mistake, that Chrift could be the Saviour of his people, without fufferings, Mat. xvi. 22. But we are under no neceflity to be obliged to fay any of these things, for we do not affert, our mother Eve received Cain, for the very Meiliah: but only we are of opinion, that, in the birth of Cain, the ob ferved a fign or token of God's performing the promise, and fomething to fupport her faith, which the was willing to declare and preferve the memory of, by giving him that name: and confequently that argument does not affect us.

XXXVI. And we are not to pafs over in filence, that when , the afterwards brought forth another fon, fhe called his naine "Seth, because God (n) hath appointed me another feed inftead of Abel, whom Cain flew," Gen. iv. 25. A fentence full of fpiritual affurance and of prophecy. She calls him feed, having a view to the promife, and foretelling, that he would not only carry on the enmity with the ferpent, but also that from him, that eminent feed would come forth, by whole power the ferpent's head was to be bruifed. The feed fhe proclaimed was given by God; as a fon not of nature only, but alfo of grace and promife, and accounted by God himfelf for a feed: nor only given, but also appointed of God, that is, established and fecured by the council of God that he should not be flain, but be the foundation of the future church, to be propagated in an uninterrupted fucceffion in his pofterity, and preferved down to Chrift. For the word to appoint, denotes a determination and fteadinefs, as John xv. 16. " I have

chofen

chofen you, and ordained (appointed) you, that ye fhould go and bring forth fruit. She therefore acknowledges Seth for the chofen feed, and the parent of him, in whom all the elect are chofen.

XXXVII. This doctrine of falvation flourished both in the mouths and in the hearts of blievers, who began mph, that is, as Aquila tranflates it, Καλίεςθαι ἐν ὀνόματι Κυρίκ to be called by the name of the Lord, Gen. iv. 26. and they were called the fons of God, as diftinguished from the fons of man. Above all, the prophecy of Enoch is very remarkable, which the apoftle Jude relates in his epiftle, not from any apocryphal book, nor from the mere authority of any unwritten tradition, nor by a fagacious conjecture from the hiftory of Mofes, but by the infpiration of that fame Spirt, who prompted Enoch to prophefy, v. 14. 15. in thefe words: " and Enoch alfo, the feventh from Adam, prophefied of thefe, faying, behold, the Lord cometh with ten thoufand of his faints, to execute judgment upon all, and to convince all that are ungodly among them," &c. That Lord, of whom Enoch fpeaks, is the Meffiah, in unity of effence the fame Jehovah with the Father and the Holy Spirit; to whom alfo all power is given in heaven and in earth, and whofe peculiar property the elect are on a fpecial account. He foretels his coming by a verb of the preterperfect tense, to exprefs the undoubted certainty of the thing, and the full affurance of his own faith, he prophefies, that the Meffiah, at that coming, will be attended with myriads of angels. Which happened, when he came down upon mount Sinai to give the law, Deut. xxxiii. 2. and when he came in the flesh, to vifit his people: for, then a multitude of the heavenly hoft, declaring his nativity, was feen and heard in the country of Bethlehem, Luke iii. 13. but this will be the cafe in a most illuftrious manner when "he fhall come in the clouds of heaven, and all the holy angels with him," Mat. xxv. 31. The end of this coming will be " to execute judgment upon all: for, the Father hath committed all judgment to the Son," John v. 22. and to convince all that are ungodly, by inflicting the punishments due to their impiety. These things Enoch preached to the people in his days, who, giving a loose to their lufts, impiously denied the future coming of the Lord. And feeing that prophecy contains an univerfal truth, it is applicable to all, who walk according to their lufts. And these are the things, which the fcripture teftifies, were delivered concerning the doctrine of falvation, in the firft age of the world.

CHAP.

CHAP. II.

Of the Doctrine of Grace under Noah.

IAS Noah was the patriarch of the new world, we are now to explain, what was handed down to us in his time, concerning the doctrine of falvation; as foon as he was born, his father Lamech called him Noach, faying, "this fame hall comfort us concerning our work and toil of our hands, because of the ground, which the Lord hath curfed," Gen.

T. 29.

II. And here, in the first place, we are to take notice of the name given to the child, both with refpect to its etymology, and the reafon affigned by the pious parent for that name. The name is Noah, which if we follow the rules of grammar, is derived from the root to reft or be quiet; to which word, both as to letters and fignification, he comforted, is near of kin, which Lamech used in affigning the reafon of the etymology. They who keep close to grammatical niceties, endeavour to correct the words of the text, and, instead of unn would have us read as the Septuagint, in order to come nearer to the etymology of the word, and to the name nahave alfo rendered it, Brosavaracus nuas this fame fball refrefb us. But feeing the Hebrew copies, the Chaldee paraphraft, Jerome, &c. conftantly read it otherwise we dare not rely only on our own judgment, or be willing to have any thing altered. In proper names, derived from a verb, commonly fome letter or other is either added, taken away, or tranfpofed, and the accuracy of grammatical etymology not conftantly obferved: which the celebrated Buxtorf has fhewn, by feveral examples, in his Vindiciis veritatis Hebraica, p. 267. Whence the Hebrew doctors generally incline to derive, from by cutting away the laft letter. But Mercer's opinion appears more probable, who affirms, here only is a resemblance of words, but not a reafon taken from etymology; because the verb both in found and fignification, comes near to the noun, which fignifies reft and comfort: And as Aben Ezra learnedly fays, "comfort alfo is reft from grief of heart." And then the Hebrews ufually have a greater regard to the fenfe than to the founds of words. As therefore the reafon of the name is thus expreffed, he shall comfort us, it is altogether the fame as if he had faid, he fall make us to reft; because to the fame purpose, whoever comforts, caufes reft. from trouble. But thefe are VOL. II.

R

rather

rather niceties, tho' not to be overlooked, in order to preferve the integrity of the Hebrew copies inviolable. This one thing is evident, that Lamech, in the name of his fon, intended a ftanding monument of his own wifhes and hopes.

III. Let us therefore fee, what he intended by this name. "This fame," fays he, " fhall comfort us concerning our work and toil of our hands, because of the ground which the Lord hath curfed." Three things are contained in this sentence: aft, The evil, under which, with other pious people, he groaned. 2dly, The good oppofed to that evil, which he had the hopeful profpect of. 3dly, The author of that good.

IV. He makes the evil, he complains of, to confift in our work, in the tail of our hands, and in the ground which God hatb curfed. The carnal Jews generally reftrict this to that fatigue of body, which men are forced to bear, in the culture of the earth, occafioned by the curfe of God, and that these words only contain a prophecy concerning an easier method of agriculture, which Noah would difcover. But his pious parents. were not fo delicate, and fo much taken up with the conveniencies of this life, as to place the greatest part of their misery in those fatigues of the body. These things have a higher view. By w, our work, are principally to be understood thofe evil works, which bring grief and forrow to the foul. For, thefe are our works, oppofed to the work of God in us. Thefe produce an unfpeakable trouble and fatigue to the godly,

as an heavy burden, they are too heavy for them," Pf. xxxviii.. 4. These were at that time visible every where, men being arrived at the utmoft pitch of wickednefs. Whence Peter, 2 Pet. ii. 5. calls the men of that generation, the world of the ungodly. But to thofe evil works was added the toil of their hands. To this I refer all the labour, mifery and calamity of this life, which were to be undergone in the fweat of our brow. This is accompained with dwelling on the earth which is curfed; fo that while man lives there, he cannot poffibly enjoy a full state of holinefs and tranquillity of foul, and fee the light of God's face in glory. For," whilft we are at home in the body, we are abfent from the Lord," 2 Cor. v. 6.

V. The good opposed to this evil, which he defired, and was in expectation of, he calls confolation or comfort. This confifts in the applying fome effectual remedy against, and in the very removal of thofe evils. The comfort against our vicious works confiits in the expiation and remiffion of them, in the intimation of that gracious fentence, by which they are pardoned on the account of the Meffiah; and finally, in the purging them away by the Spirit of fanctification. Comfort from the miferies

of

of this life or from the toil of our hands, is partly a leffening of that affliction, by granting a more profperous and happy state of things, partly the delighting the foul with an inward relish of divine goodness, whereby it is enabled to bear all those toils, with which God is pleased to exercise his people, willingly and with cheerfulness, from a fenfe of the love of God. Comfort, as to the ground, which God hath curfed, confifts in the beginnings and preludes of the heavenly glory, which the elect are even here favoured with; but chiefly, in a freedom from the body of death, and the translation of the foul into a better state and manfion. Lamech breathed after thefe bleffings, defired them and hoped for them and was willing to have a monument of this defire and hope in the name of his fon.

:

VI. But whom did he point to, as the author of this great bleffing, when he faid to his fon, when he was born, this fame shall comfort us? Some think, that being mistaken in the perfon, he flattered himself that Noah was the Mefliah. And indeed, as the believers of that age, with the greatest and moft affured hope, preffed earnestly, after the accomplishment of the promise made in paradise, and prepoffeffed it in their longings, but not having any certainty about the time when it was to be fulfilled, it is not fo very improbable, that, in the warmth of defire, they promised to themselves the expected feed in the perfons of the fons, which were born to them. But what we lately obferved concerning the expectation of our mother Eve, are objections to this. It feems therefore fafer to believe, that, on occafion of this fon, he comforted himself with the hope of the speedy coming of the Meffiah, and confidered him as a forerunner and type, and an extraordinary herald of the Meffiah. Finely speaks Martyr to this purpose: "I would rather imagine, they acknowledged their fons to be shadows or types of Christ, and therefore diftinguished them by fuch names. But Noah was not only a fhadow of Chrift, &c. Though a genuine and real confolation proceeds alone from the Meffiah and his Spirit, yet Lamech truly prophefied of Noah, that he also would be a comfort to wretched mortals. And he was fo, ift, By preaching, with an extraordinary zeal, the righteousness of faith; of which prefently. 2dly, By obtaining a respite of the imminent deftruction by means of his prayers, and exemplary holinefs of life, till the ark fhould be completed: for, Ezekiel claffes him, with Daniel and Job, as one, who was very prevalent by his deprecations, Ezek. xiv. 14, 20. 3dly, By preferving the remains of the perishing world in the ark, which he had built at God's command, and performing very many things, in which we might fee him, as a type of the Meffiah,

and